By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — The Vermont Agency of Transportation held a public hearing at the Springfield Selectboard meeting on Monday to go over the scope of the upcoming culvert replacement project on Vermont Route 11, which will require a 40-day closure starting after July 4.
The project known as Springfield BF 0134(49) is located on VT 11 in Springfield, Vermont, just over a quarter mile from the intersection with Vermont Route 106, and just west of the intersection with Fairground Road. The project includes the replacement of a culvert known as Bridge No. 61 over an unnamed brook, along with roadway and channel work, according to information provided by the Vermont Agency of Transportation.
The project is scheduled to be completed on or before Aug. 18, and lane and shoulder closures are expected both before and after the closure. Vermont Agency of Transportation Structures Designer Geoff Dargan explained that the sewer will need to be realigned, and that Kubricky-Jointa Lime, LLC will need to remove the sewer and install the culvert.
According to information provided by Carolyn Cota, project manager and head of AOT’s Structures section, the existing culvert will be replaced with a precast box culvert. During the closure they will relocate underground utilities, and complete associated channel and road work.
Dargan said several years ago similar culverts were installed on Route 11, noting that they are 100% reinforced concrete that are very durable. He said it is not reasonable to expect it will last 100 years or better, and since it is a buried structure, it is “just about maintenance free.” Dargan explained that all the bridges built these days are much lower maintenance than in the past.
Town Manager Jeff Mobus noted that the materials being used in culverts these days are very low maintenance.
“That’s going to save us down the road in terms of simple maintenance,” Mobus said.
When it is all said and done, the roadway should appear unchanged, Dargan said. There are sidewalks on both sides of the road, and the eight foot shoulder and 12-foot travel lane will be maintained.
“The roadway surface will be nice and durable,” Dargan said. “It will hold pavement really well. You won’t see much rutting.”
He added, “There’s really no change to the actual roadway driving surface itself.”
Construction will start mid-May to mid-June, Dargan explained, and during this time traffic will be largely unaffected with sidewalks remaining open. Then from mid-June to just before July 4 weekend, construction will start ramping up with Kubricky installing copper dams. They will start the early phases of removing the sewer and installing a temporary pedestrian bridge.
He said there will be “shorter to longer duration flagging activities.” The expected workday is between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., and it will be open to two-way traffic at the end of the day. Dargan said this is a good time to explore what the area will look like and think about alternate ways to get around town. He said Park Street is the recommended detour.
Dargan continued, saying between July 7 and Aug. 18 is the brunt of the work with the bridge closed. Local traffic is recommended to take Park Street as a detour. Trucks will not be able to go through, so the signed regional detour is north to Route 10 and then south to rejoin with Route 11. Sidewalks will remain open, and a temporary bridge will be installed.
“You’re looking at a planned 40 days for this closure,” Dargan said. “Kubricky is incentivized to open this earlier, so hopefully it is closer to 30ish days, but 40 days is what you can plan on and expect for this bridge to be out by Route 11.”
Night work is prohibited in this project, and the schedule will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dargan said there will be moderate delays after the work is finished in August. Kubricky Construction will be cleaning up loose ends, but the vast majority of the work should be done inside the closure. Dargan said there could be some one-lane closures between Aug. 18 and Aug. 26, however.
“The challenges on this site is that it is very tight, not a lot of space to work, and the amount of traffic going over Route 11,” Mobus said. “This is why they are confined to doing it over the summer when the middle school is not open.”
Selectboard member Heather Frahm inquired about aspects that could delay the project that the town could help with, and Dargan joked that they could help with the weather. He then said it has been in development for a long time, and working with Mobus has helped in preparation for completing this project.
“We have worked with Jeff pretty closely and I think that we’re all set,” Dargan said. “We just have to cross our fingers. Any time working in these small, flashy streams is difficult.”
Kelly Stettner of the Black River Action Team thanked Dargan for the informative presentation and said she is excited for the improvement. She asked Dargan to speak on sediment control and protecting the stream as they work. Officials said they will be bypass pumping the stream, and using a keystone fill to stop the turbidity of the water coming out to ensure that they don’t damage existing stream banks.
Mobus noted that there is some petroleum contamination in the area as there was a gas station near the site at one point. He said soil will be tested and replaced where needed, and that any other brown water encountered will be running through a filtration system to make sure there are no contaminants, and then filtered back to ensure there is no sediment running downstream.
Mobus explained that this is a $3.5 million project that is 95% funded by the state and the federal government. Only 5% is funded by the town, and money will come out of a bridge maintenance fund and will not affect the tax rate.
Officially the project needs to be finished by Nov. 14, 2025, but Mobus expects that it will be completed by the end of the summer.
“This is definitely needed, and I think the project is great,” said Mobus. “This has been in the works since 2016, so we are glad to finally get it to the finish line and have it done by the summer.”
